Meet Tabatha James of The Sensible Vegan, LLC

I have always been pretty athletic. I grew up in a home where my siblings and I played multiple sports, and my dad was a bodybuilder. Health and fitness was always part of my lifestyle. So, fast forward to me being pregnant with my first child. I bought into the “eat for two” advice and really packed on the pounds. I tipped the scale at 230 lbs and gained 70 lbs during my pregnancy. Fortunately I was still walking daily, and even with the large weight gain I didn’t have the pregnancy complications like preeclampsia like a lot of women experience. On the day of my birthday my water broke, and the next day I gave birth to my amazing daughter.

Life after giving birth was a whirlwind. One day my husband and I were out running errands, and I blacked out and found myself in the back of an ambulance being rushed to the ER. I was suffering from exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and dehydration. I had not been taking care of myself or eating right, and it caught up with me.

This scary experience was a wake up call. How could I be a great mom to my daughter if I was not taking care of myself? When my doctor gave me the green light to start exercising, I put everything that I knew into practice. I exercised and put myself on a daily meal plan. No more mindless eating and consuming thousands of calories day. I lost all of the weight, and then some, in 11 months and looked vibrant and healthy. I felt so much better, but I was still dealing with digestive problems.

Some days were more severe than others. I would get really painful stomach cramps after eating certain foods. I experienced bloating, and I felt really uncomfortable and sluggish. I started trying to self diagnose. Maybe I had a gluten sensitivity? Is it a digestive disorder? I tried so many over the counter products, eating gluten free, etc. It still didn’t help.

One night when I was feeling miserable and could not sleep, I was looking on my laptop and came across a documentary called Vegucated. As I watched it I was so intrigued and appalled. Why had I never known about veganism before? The animal cruelty footage had me devastated when I realized what happened to animals behind the scenes before they made it to my plate. After seeing the documentary I became vegan overnight and never looked back.

I have always loved to read and research information. The more I read about veganism, animal rights, health benefits, and much more I knew I wanted to share my story and inspire others. This is how The Sensible Vegan was born! Within three weeks of becoming vegan the health issued disappeared. I have not had the cramps or digestive issues ever since.

I created a blog to share recipes, product reviews, and vegan information. I also publishedmy first very children’s book, and it love to attend vegan festivals and events and sharing my story.

I had a major setback a few years ago. I had really gotten into excellent shape, and had my very story featured in Health Magazine. A few weeks later I was rear ended in a car accident and ended up having shoulder surgery. A few weeks after my surgery I was rear ended again! This was devastating. I had PTSD when I was driving and often had to pull over in tears thinking that the person behind me was going to hit me. I avoid interstate highways as much as possible. I was a mess, but thank God I made it past this period. I believe that my vegan diet was vital part of my recovery process.

My business, The Sensible Vegan, LLC, provides recipes that are all ten ingredients or less. A lot of people tell me that they become overwhelmed when trying to live a vegan lifestyle. My goal is to provide quick and easy meal options that don’t require a laundry list to ingredients.

Motherhood is such an amazing thing. There is a special bond between mothers and their children. This includes all animals. Having my own child helped me to understand the bond between dairy cows and their calves even more. When I saw the footage of baby calves being taken away from their mothers right after being born I was appalled. Instead of the milk going to calves it was manufactured for grocery stores instead. My children’s book, Farmer Sue Knew, is the story about a dairy farmer that gives birth and begins to understand the bond between her dairy cows and calves. To find out what happens, you have to get the book! I am really proud of this book and have been able to share it at festivals and events with thousands of people across the country. My daughter and I do book readings at the events.

Success is setting attainable goals, surrounding yourself with like minded people, and continuously working to achieve those goals. Success is realizing your calling in life, operating on that calling, and finding a way to help others in the process.